What was the first car to NOT have a manual transmission as an option?

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

This car talk can really get crazy!
I went to a garage sale several years ago and some stuck up looking broad stopped as well, driving one of those death-traps, a so-called Smart Car. I was driving my old Toyota Prius. I remarked the my car gets at least 5 MPG more than that thing you're driving and it has a little more room in it, plus it's safer.
Naturally the bimbo mentioned the costly batteries.

I say a lot of things I think could be considered crazy, I just roll with it.

This makes me think of how the Ford/Chevy/Dodge 4X4 guys are always taking cheap shots at one another. They could debate the strengths and weaknesses of each indefinitely, and/or use compromising photos of the object of their derision as the basis for Pinterest memes.

Originally Posted by Electronic M

They'd have a hard time selling me on one of those "smart" deathtraps as a golf cart let alone as a car.

A year or two back I remember this commercial where they tried to show the strength of the bodyshell by balancing a Suburban on top of its roof...As an engineer, I thought "okay you've shown me your ad agency is good at deceiving dumb people. Now show me what that soda can does under REAL crash conditions" There have been various cases of people balancing cars as heavy as a suburban on four chicken eggs...Just because it can take a static load don't mean it is worth a damn in an impact at highway speeds. A real demo would have been to park it nose against a concrete wall and ram a Suburban or a semi truck into it at at least 50MPH and show that the passenger compartment is fully intact...Though I'd reckon it probably takes that impact like a chicken egg (SPLAT!).

Considering that I'm not a Smart enthusiast but I know a few things about them, I can take an objective stance on this.

I used to think a crash would easily turn one of those things into an Origami sculpture, but then I found out about the cage around the passenger compartment. There is a video of one slamming into a concrete barrier at 70MPH; the passenger compartment help up fairly well, save for the big hole in the driver's side footwell. The doors still opened, the damage hindering movement of the driver's door somewhat but the the other door was not affected.

I don't think any vehicle or its passengers would survive getting sandwiched by a semi moving at a good clip. Many moons ago I heard a story of a similar accident involving a 1971 Mercury Montego. If I'm not mistaken a drunk in a 5-tonne truck pushed the Merc into the wall of a bar, caving in the wall as well. The owner had recently done a bunch of bodywork on it in preparation for paint. That was in 1978 according to a photo I saw of the wreckage.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

I say a lot of things I think could be considered crazy, I just roll with it.

This makes me think of how the Ford/Chevy/Dodge 4X4 guys are always taking cheap shots at one another. They could debate the strengths and weaknesses of each indefinitely, and/or use compromising photos of the object of their derision as the basis for Pinterest memes.


.

I stopped at a friend's place where he was prepping the ground for concrete.
He borrowed a large ground tamping machine that the owner brought in a brand new Ford F150, that he had in his possession for four hours.
On the way there The machine slid around in the bed and poked two holes in the aircraft- quality aluminum truck box. The stuff must be as thick as an aluminum pie plate.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I stopped at a friend's place where he was prepping the ground for concrete.
He borrowed a large ground tamping machine that the owner brought in a brand new Ford F150, that he had in his possession for four hours.
On the way there The machine slid around in the bed and poked two holes in the aircraft- quality aluminum truck box. The stuff must be as thick as an aluminum pie plate.

Supposedly the other two Merican makers are going to go aluminum too...For fool ecconomy. once that happens I can see a business in aftermarket steel bed liners, and or classic trucks experiencing a bump in value.

[Sandy G]

Well, that'd be about right... In the old days, the beds rusted out in a couple years, then they started painting/treating them w/stuff that bought you another couple of years. Now, they're going to aluminumnumnumnumnum, which you can poke a whole thru w/no trouble at all.... My Dad got his pickup bed coated w/this stuff that was rubbery, you couldn't damage it hardly at all, it would outlast the vehicle, made it quieter, & was difficult to cut even w/a sharp knife. The 2nd year they had it out, you could get it in any color you wanter-it was nominally black. As expensive as vehicles are now, looks like this stuff could at least be offered as an option...

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I stopped at a friend's place where he was prepping the ground for concrete.
He borrowed a large ground tamping machine that the owner brought in a brand new Ford F150, that he had in his possession for four hours.
On the way there The machine slid around in the bed and poked two holes in the aircraft- quality aluminum truck box. The stuff must be as thick as an aluminum pie plate.

Actually I was referring to 4X4s of any vintage, but yeah, those aluminum boxes are just a bad idea. Government mandates have already wiped out cars, soon enough pickup trucks will be gone. Perhaps they should just force all automakers to go with Flintstone power and be done with it.

Originally Posted by Sandy G

My Dad got his pickup bed coated w/this stuff that was rubbery, you couldn't damage it hardly at all, it would outlast the vehicle, made it quieter, & was difficult to cut even w/a sharp knife. The 2nd year they had it out, you could get it in any color you wanter-it was nominally black. As expensive as vehicles are now, looks like this stuff could at least be offered as an option...

Spray-on bed liner, I've seen the stuff on the Canadian Tire site. I think it's also offered as a brush-on application.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

Actually I was referring to 4X4s of any vintage, but yeah, those aluminum boxes are just a bad idea. Government mandates have already wiped out cars, soon enough pickup trucks will be gone. Perhaps they should just force all automakers to go with Flintstone power and be done with it.

Spray-on bed liner, I've seen the stuff on the Canadian Tire site. I think it's also offered as a brush-on application.

Here in the states Ford vs Chevy is mostly a generic pickup truck debate... with Dodge being the little guy the others can agree to laugh off.... I guess canajins are more concerned with 4WD... understandable.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Yeah...You saw a lot of "Weekend Warrior" types who had those cheap 'n' Shoddy plastic bedliners in their pickem ups. We were FARMERS, weUSED up trucks to HAUL stuff in, Henry never had less than a 3/4 to truck, he had a 5th wheel gizmo mounted in the bed, so he could pull a farm wagon, or a horse trailer. He was a BIG believer-as am I-thatif you thought a 1/2 ton would work, you prolly oughta get the Big Dawg, 'cause you'd likely end up wishing you would have not long after you got it.

For sure, I'd look for the same things in a pickup or van. I never know what I may run across that I would want to stuff into one. This brings to mind a show in which one character has a rather oddly-optioned Ford F100; not very useful I thought. If I ever say "eight is enough", I would likely be referring to wheel lugs.

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Here in the states Ford vs Chevy is mostly a generic pickup truck debate... with Dodge being the little guy the others can agree to laugh off.... I guess canajins are more concerned with 4WD... understandable.

Not unless you consider busted up pavement as a reason for needing 4 wheel drive; that's how it is in the place I'm itching to get out of anyway. You're buying into a common yankee stereotype which is especially untrue of where I am.

Pinterest memes are my only source of information on the 4X4 debate; I doubt the bulk of contributors are Canadian.